Refrigerator



Nov. 10, 1942. E. E. volGHT REFRIGERATOR Filed April 8. 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. i296' gy. f/ TToRmiY.

Patented Nov. 10, 1942 UNITED ascissa" i v y fanrmcnaa'roa -Earl`E..VoightEvansvllle,

Inc.,

- ware T New York, N. Y.,

ma., minor a sei-rel. a corporationV of Delaf application apra t, mi, gemme. 135,630

f t .mazza-e). lMy invention relates to refrigerators,V and more particularly to refrigerator cabinet structure It is an obiect of the invention tojprovide an improvement in refrigerator cabinets' havingv an outer shell formed from a it is an object 0f to .provide an improvement in fabricating such More particularly,

single sheet of metal.

the invention a one/piece outer shell having rounded corners about the entire the forming of the Itopsimplifled and accurately controlled.`r

I accomplish this by sheet of metal a substan having rounded corners va and at the top or notches at the top front corners,

front and at the top',v whereby iront corners may be 'forming from a singlev tially U-.shaped shell bout'the `entire front thereof. the shell having recesses andsecuring in the notches inserts or metal sections of such shape that smooth at these regions which c of both the rounded corners at th of the shell.

The invention,

rounded su together with the l above and otherk objects and advantages thereof.' will be more fully understoodv from the following description taken in conne panying drawings formin of. which Fig.. 1

iication. and

.section of a refrigerator cabinet embodying invention; Fig. 2. is a `shell of the cabinet top plan view of the Fig. 5 is an enlarged taken atline sneu shown in Figs. sectional view taken at front elev shown in Fig. 1;Fig. 3

shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 at line 2 4 of Fig. 2: tary sectional view 2; Fig. 6 is a plan view y he shell shown is a plan view be divided into shell is a sectional view taken fragmen 5-5 of Fig. sheet` from which t 3 is formed; Fig.-'l of a ring-shaped cup which may sections to provide the top front 2 and 3; andr Fig. 8 is a line S-v-U of Fig. 'Ifto illuscorn'ers of ction with the accomg a part of thls'speciis'` aside. vertical the.

ation of the outer the trate more clearly the shape of the ring-shaped cup.

Referring. to Fig. l, I1 have shown the invention embodied in a refrigerator comprisinga cabinet Il provided with a base Ii an metal shell or liner l2 arrange shell il and insulated therefro able insulating material I5. 'I'h deilnes a thermally Ii is a compar of the cabinet d having an inner d within an outer m with any suit,- e inner shelll insulated storage space It door cates with an upward extending compartment ilwhich is substantially the same height asf the 55. the outer may be housed in the lower rfacesjare provided onform to -jthe contour e top and front which forms a flue cooling element the rear wall of the storage space to form a groove cabinet l0. vThe lateral shell il extend or project beyond va metal plate or rear panel 2l of the rear insulated wall lof the storage space il toprovide il; ta door 2| is hinged to the front ofthe cab- A cooling element frigerating systemis disposed il. to maintain the latter perature. The refrigerating system, which may be :either of anabsorptionkor compression type,

and 'vertical comvIl and It. In order to arrange the 22 withinthe .storage space Il,

final' be Droor` evaporator 22`of a rein the storage space partments vided with anvopenin'g Part or coverl 2l through which 24 and 2i connecting the .cooling element 22 with other parts of the refrigerating system.

- The heaty rejecting parts of the system are preferably housed in 'through ywhich an upward flow of air is induced by natural draft. The verticallyV extending compartment i! may be partly or fully venclosed by arear plate 26. A perforated enclosure memberl is xed to the upper part of compartment Il to permit upward now of air in the latter. 'The parts of the refrigerating system .associated with the cooling element 22 have not been shown in the drawingasincetheir illustration is not necessary for an understanding of the present invention.

The rear panel 2i serves as a closure member andextends between the lateral side walls of the outer shell i4: The upper part of panel 20 and the rear wall of liner l2 are'provided with flanged openings to receive the grooved edges of a trim 2: defining the opening for the removable cover -2 The lower part of panel 20 is provided with an enlarged opening 29 whereby the compartments -It and Il are inopen communication. 'I'he up- .per edge of openingl 29` is bent back upon itself 20 which is substantially at fthe same height as grooves formed by members 3l at the side walls of the outershell. The lower edge of a cross member 32 at'the front of the cabinet is also bentback upon itself to provide a groove. A bottom plate 34 having a flange about the periphery thereof is supported formed by tl'n'upturned edges of the panelopening 29 and cross member 3.2. and the members 3i ,disposed at the side lwalls of shell. The periphery of bottom plate side wenn; 'or the tutti the compartment Il, and at the openingv of the lower compartment,

at a desiredlow temhaving a removably wall extend conduits the vertical compartment I9 -v and liner I2 are insertable through the front of the cabinet.

The edges of the outer shell I4 and liner I2 about the upper door opening are securedto a wooden frame 35. About the upper door opening are secured finishing or trim strips 36 which are and 42. With the metal members 3| secured to the sheet, as by welding, for example, the sheet is made into the shape of a U by forming over a rounded `die. The upper corners of the U-shaped shell are rounded with the bending taking place at they region of the notches 51.

In accordance with my invention, in order to provide smooth rounded surfaces at the top front of theshell, these regions of the shell are provided with the notches or recesses 51, and metal sections or inserts 58 are secured in the notches,

v the metal sections or inserts being of such shape preferably formed of an insulating material, such as the material commercially known as Bakelite. The door I1 is provided with a ledge to which is fixed a gasket 31 which bears against the outer shell I4 and cross member 32 when thedoor is in its closed position. The lower door 2l in itsclosed position bears against the front of the outer shell I4, cross member 32, and a lower cross member 38 which extends across the iront of the cabinet. y

Referring to Figs. 2 to 4 inclusive, shell I4 is formed from a single sheet of metal to provide the top 33, lateral side walls 4E, and Imarginal front portions 4I and 42, the shell 'being substantially U-shaped and having rounded corners about the entire front and at thettop thereof,

as indicated at 43 and 44, respectively. Across the rear of thetop 39 is provided an elongated recess or opening 45 having right angle flanges 46 and 41, as 'shown in Fig. 4, for locating and positioning the rear panel 2U and perforated enclosure member 21. Therear edges of the lateral side walls 40 are provided with flanges 48 yto which the plate 26 is secured, and the lower edges thereof are provided with flanges 49 for securing the'shell to the base II.

The front marginal portions 4I are provided with inwardly extending projections or tabs 50 and 5I which are directly opposite each other and to which the cross members 32' and 33 are secured to define theopenings for the upper and lower compartments I6 and I8, respectively. The front marginal portions 4I and 42, upper edges of projections 50 and the upper edge of cross member 32 are provided with an inclined flange that smooth rounded surfaces are provided which conform to the contour of both the rounded corners at the top and front of the shell.

Although the inserts 58 may be individually stamped from sheet metal I preferably provide ring-shaped cups 59 of the shape shown in Figs. '1 and 8, and divide each cup into four parts, as indicated by the `dotted lines 60, to provide the inserts I8. y

The cup i9 is of such size that the outer pe riphery thereof conforms to the rounded corners 44 at the top of the cabinet. The cup 59 is provided with a rounded shoulder 6I which conforms to the rounded corners at the front of the shell. Whenone segment or part of the cup 59 is positioned in a notch 51, therefore, smooth rounded surfaces are provided which conform to the contour of both the rounded Acorners at the top and the front of the shell. The inserts may be secured to the, shell I4 byI welding or in any other suitable manner. The cup 53 is formed to f providean inclinedilange 62 aboutthe 'opening 52 which extends rearwardly from the front of the shell.

The sheet of metal forming the outer shell I4 is blanked from a fiat sheet which is of the general shape shown in Fig. 6. To provide the rear flanges 46 an'd- 41, the outer corners of recess 45 are notched at B3 and the inner corners thereof are slotted at 54. The lateral edges of the sheet are notched ai'. $5 and 58 to provide the rear flanges 48 and the lower flanges 43 of the lateral side walls 40. The front edge of the sheet is provided with the projections or tabs 5I) and 5I to which the cross members 32 and 33 are secured. Two rectangular-shaped notches or recesses 51, which are opposite the end portions of recess 45, are provided at the front' edge of the sheet for reasons which will presently described.

After blanking the sheet I4 shown in Fig. 6 and described above, the longitudinal and lateral edges of the sheet are bent in suitable apparatus to forni all of the flanges in a single operation. After the hanging operation, the front longitu-n thereof. When the inserts 58 are secured in position, the inclined Vflanges 62 connect the flanges 52 of the front marginal portions'4i and 42 to provide a continuous flange extending about the entire opening of the upper storage space I6.

By forming the top front corners of the shell I4 withthe inserts 5B, the fabrication of the shell from a single sheet of metal is simplified considerably'. Since the inserts are shaped before they. are welded in position at the notches, smooth surfaces are always insured at the top front of the shell. After a shell has been rendered yrustproof and finished, las with lacquer, for example, the entire outer surface presents a smooth appearance with no` indication of the upper front corners having. been formed by notohing and subsequent welding of metal sections or inserts.

While a single embodiment of my improved lrefrigerator cabinet structure has been shown and described, such variations and modifications are contemplated which come within the true spirit and scope of my invention, as pointed out in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. An outer shell for a refrigerator cabinet including. a top and two lateral sides made from amai edge of the sheet is bent to form the front rounded comers and front marginal portions 4I a metallic blank. the unbent blank having spaced .rectangular-shaped notches at the forward edge the top and lateral sides and the front marginal portions, and metal inserts for the formed outer shell connecting the top and side iront marginal portions and filling the gaps formed by the notches so as to provide smooth rounded surfaces at the upper forward corners of the outer shell, said inserts being segments of an annularshaped member having the radius of the peripheral edge conforming to the contour of the rounded corner of the top of theshell, and the segments in section having rounded shoulders conforming to the rounded corners from which the marginal front portions extend.

2. An outer shell for a refrigerator cabinet including a top and two lateral sides made from a metallic blank having spaced notches in the forward edge intermediate the ends thereof. said shell having rounded corners at the juncture of the top and the lateral sides at the regions of the notches, the forward edge at the top between the notches being bent to form a rounded corner and a top marginal front portion extending from such rounded'corner, the forward edges at the lateral sides between the notches and the ends of the blank being bent to form rounded corners and side marginal front portions extending from such rounded corners, the notches forming gaps at the upper forward corners after the blank is bent to form the top and lateral sides and the front marginal portions, metal inserts in the notches connecting the top and side front marginal portions and filling the gaps formed by the notches so as to provide smooth rounded surfaces at the upper forward corners at the front of the outer shell, the side front marginal portions being provided with tabs extending inwardly substantially opposite each other, the corners formed by the upper edges of the tabs and the side front marginal portions and also the upper inner corners formed by the inserts being rounded. the marginal front portions including the tabs and inserts having a flange exl tending rearwardly therefrom, a cross member extending between and secured to said tabs, and said cross member also having a flange extending rearwardly therefrom and forming a continuation of the rearwardly extending flange at the marginal front portions and inserts and tabs EARL E. VOIGHT. 

